Beatties: Store at heart of Wolverhampton celebrations now reduced to a broken shell
It was once the beating heart of Wolverhampton and somewhere crowds of shoppers would flock to all-year round for a magical experience – especially during Christmas.
Dazzling lights were on display and so was the festive cheer from the moment a person entered Beatties' historic city centre store, first launched by James Beattie back in 1877.
And it has remained synonymous with the city ever since, despite being taken over by House of Fraser in 2005 - with many people continuing to refer to it by the iconic Beatties name.
But the magic soon began to fade when, after it was saved by businessman Mike Ashley's intervention in 2018, it was revealed the doors would close for the final time in 2020.
It was later sold off for £3 million, with discussions surrounding what would happen to the building, before it was decided the site – including the car park – would become flats.
Wolverhampton Council later signed off on proposals for 306 apartments at the former store and car park, which would have been converted into the homes, back in March 2021.
But only a few months ago and the plans had changed somewhat, with the car park on Skinner and School Street instead being knocked down for 145 apartments instead of it being kept.
The car park had been earmarked for 33 flats, with the change meaning an extra 112 will be built there to bring the overall number to 418 homes, with the move being rubber-stamped by chiefs.
A statement submitted on behalf applicants SSYS Beatties Ltd said: "The proposal is to demolish the car park, add a car parking basement with a commercial ground floor and also six full floors of between 19 and 21 flats per floor.
“There will also be seventh and eighth residential floors with shared amenity space. Nearly all the flats will have at least one balcony – but all of them will have access to communal open space in the five amenity decks provided."
Another major part of the plan will affect the popular Gorgeous Nightclub which it was revealed will be replaced and "relocated" elsewhere within the Beatties estate, but the full details of that decision has not yet been revealed.
The move to bring the Beatties building back into use was welcomed by councillors across the city, with Councillor Stephen Simkins, deputy leader of Wolverhampton Council, welcoming the boost it would provide to the city centre.
"We're actively encouraging more homes in the city centre, we want to utilise these spaces and if you use it as housing you've got an active market in the city centre – so it creates not only housing but also provides a boost to the local economy, and city centre living is on the up," he told the Express & Star.
